Netizens even initiated a poll, speculating on the identity of the child’s father.
Upon learning the truth, Marcus‘ mother, consumed by heartbreak and remorse, punished him and decreed that he marry me.
In those days, Marcus Chase was utterly consumed by his love for Summer Sue. He wept and knelt for three days and nights, imploring his mother to rescind her command.
But Marcus‘ mother, a devout Buddhist, believed in the immutable law of karma.
Enduring her own heartache, she ultimately remained unyielding.
A week later, the announcement of the Chase Family’s adopted daughter’s betrothal to the Chase Family’s young master seized every media outlet’s attention.
For the remainder of our days, we were locked in mutual torment.
Through countless nights of solitary tears, my heart finally perished.
Alas, forced affection yields a bitterness that chills one to the very core.
It is well enough; we are reborn.
In this life, I shall be a thousand leagues distant from him, never to cross paths again!
As I emerged from Mother’s chamber, my arm was abruptly seized.
Turning, I beheld Marcus Chase, his gaze laden with unfathomable intent.
“Felicity, we must speak.”
He ushered me into another bedchamber, closed the door, and, with a furrowed brow, declared:
“Mother made it clear that if you were unwilling, there would be no compulsion. Why, then, did you consent?”
I offered a wan smile: “Is this not what elder brother desired?”
D
“You!” His countenance darkened, and after a protracted silence, he released a profound sigh. “I merely sought to use this as a warning: cease these contemptible machinations.“After all, the Chase Family rescued you from a desolate mountain village in The Northeast; surely you wouldn’t wish to return?
Despicable, am I?
I swallowed the bitter truth with a pained smile, uttering each word with deliberate clarity: “I repeat, I was not the one who poisoned your drink in our past life.”
“Enough!“” Marcus Chase’s voice rose, laced with suppressed fury.“”You personally handed me that glass, and traces of the drug were found in your pocket. The evidence is irrefutable; do you truly believe I would credit your lies?”
I gazed at him, a profound sorrow engulfing my heart.
I turned away in silence, intending to depart, but he seized my arm, his tone now conciliatory: “Provided you cease your machinations against me, remaining within the Chase Family is not entirely out of the question.”The Northeast is a land of hardy souls, and the man to whom you are betrothed is a second–generation scion, known for his violent temper and coarse manners. Marry him, and your suffering will know no end.
I turned, coldly extricating my hand from his grasp, and appraised him with a chilling gaze.
“Brother, I implore you to conduct yourself with decorum. I am now a woman promised in marriage. What
impropriety is this, this unseemly tugging and pulling?”
With those words, I turned and strode purposefully away.
His voice, laced with a desperate edge, drifted from behind.
“Felicity Chase, you debase yourself thus, solely to elicit my pity! Very well! Marry him then, but do not come crawling back, weeping and pleading for your return!”
